Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

INTERVIEW U.S. Trials Champion Geoff Aaron finally beat Ryan Young for the cham pionship. 1998 was good because I finished strong, with three consecu tive win s, Last year, yo u made a mo ve from your h om e i n Conn e ct i cut to Alpine, Calif ornia. Wh at was the motiva tio n beh in d th e move, and d o yo u feel it was b en eficial? Alpine, Cali fornia, is a grea t place to rid e a nd live . I had visi ted the ar ea several times prior to moving here for p ho to s hoots a n d maga z in e tests. So u thern Cal if orn ia is a hotbed for motor cycli sts. Several industry p layer s ar e here, and most of the magazines. I came to California because I thought I wou ld have mo re opportu nity her e to pro mote my sp0!,sors. For those wh o d on 't know ab ou t yo u r extreme riding ventures, give Q us a littl e h ist ory. ERE (Ex tre me Ridi n g En te r ta in . merit ) is a compa ny I started in 1997 when John Clark decided to step out of doin g trials d emos. I was abl.e to learn from th e su ccess a nd th e mi stak es of ~ Cl a rk' s se tu p a nd bu ilt my own custom demo rig. 1997 wa s a very su e. cess fu l year, and so we d ecid ed to take it to the next level by capitalizing on our connection s in California. The show is an excellent wav to expose trials to the people. • A ~....\; ,~.. . Q An d the video? ERE's latest is a new video. It called "Balancing Aand it hasisall proj ectof insane Act" types footage. It's 40 minutes long and features cha mpions like Lam p kin, Kara s, Ahvala, Tarres, Hen ry and m yself. This p roject was another reason for moving to California . In the past, it has been d ifficult to work w ith m y co nnections in Los Angeles. No w I have the cha nce to help put my own twist on the "u ltimate trials video." What is the mo st outrageous thing yo u have ever done on a motorcyc e? Re ce n tly , in th e Ca r ibbe a n , w e rod e bikes for 11 hours throu gh the night on su per-s ke tchy ro ad s a t high speeds . Jesse seized his motocross bike going at least 60 mph. We had several near-dea th experi en ces. I m il never forge t that crazy ride from hell! A By Shane MoorelTrial s Compet ition Newspaper Photos by Moore and Matt Freeman W 00 0\ 0\ ,...... ~~ I-< Il) ..0 E Il) u Il) o 56 ith five straig ht Na tional titles a nd 35 N a tiona l w ins to h is cred it, Geoff Aaro n has establish ed himse lf as one of the all-time grea ts in Ll.S, trials hi s tory . Equa lly im pressive is the fact that the 26-yearold Beta pilot shows no sig ns of slowin g ' down . In fact, he is bu sier now than ever before. In addition to his rigorous Na tional sc he d ule, Aa ro n s tays bu sy d o in g extreme riding exhibit ions all over the country for the com pa ny he started last yea r, Extreme Ridin g Entertainmen t. He r e centl y s h are d th e s tage w i th Micros oft' s Bill .Gat es a t th e Comd ex co m p u te r s ho w in La s Ve ga s, n ose w heeleying on to th e s tage th rough a . cloud of smoke as Gates introd uced new Microsoft products to the crowd . ERE's latest venture is a trial s and extreme rid- ing video featuring Aaron and some of th e wo rld 's to p rid er s (mo tocrosser Dou g Henry makes an appearance). We spoke wi th Aaron shortly after the fina l National in Arizona abou t trials, training and the futu re of the sport. YOU had a very soli d year, with six wins. If you could a tt r ibu te th e cham p ion shi p to an y on e thing, what would it b e? Exp er ien ce . I w a s ab le to put in s tea d y r ides this yea r b eca u s e I have experie nce a nd confi d ence . I am a lso very famili ar with m y Beta a n d what chan ges need to be mad e depending on the event location. Q A O f yo u r five championships, is there one that means more than the others for one reason or another? 1996 wa s' m y best year . I won all exce p t two of th e rou nds.and wa s able to come back from a bad practice injury . 1994 was also special because I was either first or second at every round an d I Q A What do you cons ider your: riding s tr e n g ths, and what is it that rna es Geoff Aaron a five-lim e champion? I think my streng ths are being able to perform in all types of terrain; I don' t consider myself a mud rider or a d ry rider - I feel I can wi n in any terrain. I also ha ve st ron g self -mo ti va tion . I practice by myself often and constantly challenge m y self. (Jus t as k th e p arts d epartment at Cosm o.) [ have the d esire and heart, and I wa nt to w in. A ln the last couple of years, the top trials teams have taken on a presence in the pits similar to the fac tory motoc ross team s. Tell u s how team Beta operates for the National events. The Beta team has the best setu p at the Na tionals. Ron Commo Sr. has a lot of experience winning. He ha s been the mechanic behind several successfu l trials rid ers in the U.S. For some events, I will fly in and Ron will hav e a prepared bike for me. For others, I dri ve and bring my own bike. Regardless, his expe rience with" Beta makes his bikes the best ava ilable. Ron usu ally dri ves the team transpo rter to all the Na tionals . Larry Wise at Cosm o and Mike Krasun ge ne ra te th e money to make it all happen. Q A Q A What about Jesse Hoffman? Jesse was my mind er for the enti re 1998 series. His respon sibili ties are end less. He helped me. prepare the bike for N a tio na ls, he spo ts for me on bi g steps, he keeps track of the time limi t in the sections, he carries part s and tools in case of a problem and he has water for me. H avin g a mind e r th at yo u know and trust is a big ad vantage. D id you have an y funny experiences thi s year? A t the firs t a tio na l this yea r in Florida, Jesse and I were on our way to the first section, and of course we wer e racing each other. When the trail made a turn, we crashed into eac h other before the first section of the year. Nice, huh ? Q A What wiII it .take to make trials a Q more popular and professional sport in the United States? An ind oor series. A YOU had a chance to ride und er th e "no stop" rules used by th e FIM whi le competing at th is year' s Trials des Nations. What do you think of the rule? The FlM rul e seems to be wo rking well in Europe. I feel that some rid er s will feel less intimidated to try trials without all the bou ncing a rou nd . This cou ld help increase the attend ance and bike sales. On the other hand , I think it would be a mistake to initia te that rule for indoo r competition. Q A T ell us about you r plans for the 1999 season. I recentl y signed a one-year contract wit h Beta. I will ru n under my own Team ERE banner but still receive mechanical support from Ron Commo . Brak ing. Elf and Ren thal are also supporting me. I haven'ts igned a clothing deal yet. Q A After your competition days are over, do you have pla ns to remain in t e sport in one way or another?' Now I am having a lot of fun ridin g a n d I a m co ns t a n t ly bu ildin g important connections . I hop e to always be inv olved with motorcycles someho w. Ultimately, I would like to help pioneer the indoor trials scene in Am erica. A So far, you have ha d a brilli ant trials career. If yo u coul d have don e anything di fferently, what wou ld it be? I am happy with th e path I have chosen . The only thing I wish I had don e d ifferently is start earlier and push harder to reach the level of the top European rid ers. l~ Q A

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